Home Fires by Barbara Delinsky Read Free Book Online Page A

eyes. “Don’t you see? Your pleasure brings me mine. They’re one and the same. I don’t think we could separate them if we tried.”
    â€œBut I don’t know …” she cried out softly in an attempt to confess her inexperience.
    Mark wouldn’t hear of it. “You do know.” He was deeply insistent “I saw it in your eyes from the first You’re exquisite.” To illustrate his point he kissed her again, with greater conviction now and an ever-deepening drive.
    Deanna found herself settling happily into the haven of his arms, surrendering willingly to the beauty of his kiss. This was part of that promise she had seen in his eyes and its soul-touch was every bit as exquisite as he claimed her to be. She submitted to his sweeping exploration of her mouth and thrilled to the heady nectar of his.
    But again, from deep within the fantasy, came a
demand for more than submission. It wasn’t enough to be kissed. Kissing back was just as critical. Under the gentle caress of his hands on the rustling silk that covered her back, Deanna opened her lips more fully to welcome Mark’s tongue and then, timidly at first, meet it with her own. Gradually she experienced the sensation and soon found herself swept up in it. It was a whirlpool of desire, ever widening to draw her deeper and deeper into its heart With growing abandon she let herself know its dizzying force as she met Mark’s heat with her own.
    He was right, she realized. The more she gave, the more impassioned she grew. It was an endless circle, as endless as the rings whirling about them, tightening bit by bit to bind them together.
    For a fleeting moment Deanna wondered whether other women knew this extreme sensual joy, whether she was the oddity for having been ignorant of its bliss for so many, many years. She had always found satisfaction in other realms. Now, at this moment, there was only Mark.
    As though hearing his name in her thoughts, he drew back to look at her. The familiarity of his expression was nearly more than she could bear. It spoke so clearly of his desperate need of her. But Deanna had just begun to recognize her own needs. This freedom he had given her was just taking root.
    Moving on pure instinct, she leaned lower and put her lips against his chest His skin seemed to throb beneath her mouth and she closed her eyes to better savor his scent and the wild heat he exuded.
    He moaned, pressing her closer. She was aware of the full length of him, of the thighs that supported hers and the hands that molded her lower body to his. Her heart hammered loudly as she understood the rising thrust of his need. It, in turn, inflamed her.
    Once again he held her back, this time with a hand on
her either arm. “I need you,” he whispered. “It seems as if I’ve waited forever.”
    â€œI know,” she answered falteringly, and she did. Fantasy had its own needs and they were demanding after their long years of denial. Breathing in short, uneven gasps, she gently nudged his shirt over his shoulders and let it drop behind him. But when she reached to touch the masculine wealth suddenly opened to her, he reached as well. She was unprepared for the sudden rush of air on her back, needing a minute to realize that he’d lowered the zipper of her dress.
    Startled, she recoiled. There had been an unreality to the situation when he had undressed before her and her mind had been caught up in the passion of it all. But now it was her turn. Her clothing was the property of Mrs. Lawrence Hunt. Stripped of it, she was in many ways a stranger to herself.
    â€œPlease, let me love you,” Mark said softly. “I won’t hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”
    She nodded slowly. She did know it, though she wasn’t sure how. When it came down to facts, she knew practically nothing about this man other than his name, his profession, his home base. He could be any number of horrible